One and a half years since my last posting. Somewhat speaks to the less than vibrant travel schedule I've had though I did neglect to write about the surreal trip to Dubai last December for the international diabetes conference. But without further ado, I declare this blog reinstated. The inspiration - a long awaited work trip to China. I will be in Shanghai 2 weeks and in Beijing for one week.
Our story picks up three days in. Having long ago learned that sleep just wouldn't happen on long-haul flights, I instead caught up on movies. And lots of them. Six in fact. I mean really it's very time and cost efficient since I never get to the theater back home. Unlike my last trip to China, my new org sent a driver to pick me up from the airport which saved me from having to latch on to a fellow traveler to find my way to a taxi. I was dropped off at the guesthouse at the medical center where our office is located and once I'd oriented myself to the new digs i.e. figured out how to turn on lights, checked the kitchen for breakfast items and picked a bedroom, promptly passed out.
The next two days were spent in a community health center worker forum, where I gave the plenary talk, and then a day of program partner presentations, evaluating and signifying the end to the program. It was a three year chronic disease management program that focused on continuity of care, training health workers and developed patient education materials for COPD, heart disease, sleep apnea and stroke. Fortunately my talk was about 12 hours after I arrived in country - jet lag had not kicked in and the caffeine had not worn off. My colleague provided translation.
Food, food, food. My colleagues had been kind enough to have some items put in my apartment. There were eggs, yogurt, oatmeal (I think someone tipped them off on that preference), milk, bread, cheese and fruit. All good. There was a hot plate and microwave. Also good. There were two plates, two tiny bowls and a pair of chop sticks. However the hot plate was in Chinese and pressing buttons randomly did not seem to heat it. Then I realized I had to eat yogurt/oats with chop sticks. In the end it worked but with creativity. Turns out the hot plate heats without "heat". And I bought a spoon at Walmart. Less fun but more efficient dining has resulted.
For the two days of meetings we were somewhat spoiled with fancy lunches - the kind where you stuff yourself on ten-fifteen assorted dishes only to have another ten be brought out. Friday evening was a going-away dinner for an American visiting doctor which involved the same parade of food. Pacing yourself isn't in the realm of possibilities, and so it was understandable when Saturday I didn't feel well and hardly ate much. I've been promised that the rest of my dining experiences, while less ornate, will be on a much smaller scale for which my stomach and I are very thankful.
Our story picks up three days in. Having long ago learned that sleep just wouldn't happen on long-haul flights, I instead caught up on movies. And lots of them. Six in fact. I mean really it's very time and cost efficient since I never get to the theater back home. Unlike my last trip to China, my new org sent a driver to pick me up from the airport which saved me from having to latch on to a fellow traveler to find my way to a taxi. I was dropped off at the guesthouse at the medical center where our office is located and once I'd oriented myself to the new digs i.e. figured out how to turn on lights, checked the kitchen for breakfast items and picked a bedroom, promptly passed out.
Food, food, food. My colleagues had been kind enough to have some items put in my apartment. There were eggs, yogurt, oatmeal (I think someone tipped them off on that preference), milk, bread, cheese and fruit. All good. There was a hot plate and microwave. Also good. There were two plates, two tiny bowls and a pair of chop sticks. However the hot plate was in Chinese and pressing buttons randomly did not seem to heat it. Then I realized I had to eat yogurt/oats with chop sticks. In the end it worked but with creativity. Turns out the hot plate heats without "heat". And I bought a spoon at Walmart. Less fun but more efficient dining has resulted.
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